Improvement in fuses for explosive shells



J. M'CINTYREL Shell-Fuse.

No. @,350 Patented Oc'b. 20, 1863.

rnFETEns, FHOTmLIrHQGRAPHER. WASHAINGTON. Q C.

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JAMES MOINTYRE, OF NEV YORK, N.

llVlPROVElVlENT IN FUSES FOR EXPLOSIVE SHELLS.

Specifcationltorming part of Letters Patent No. 110,350., dated October 20, ISGS; antedated October 14, 1863.

To a/ZZ whom it 11i/ty con/cern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES MoINrYnn, of the city and State of New York, have invented, made, and applied to use a certain new and useful Improvement in Fuses for Projectiles 5 and I do hereby declare the 'following to be afull, clear, and exact description of my 'said invention, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, wherein-` Figure lis a vertical section of said fuse, and Fig. 2 is an end View of the same.

Similar references denote the same parts.

Fuses have heretofore been made to ex plode the projectile at the end of a certain period by being perforated at given points for that purpose. cause an explosion of the projectile immediately that it came in contact with any object, because the given period had to elapse for the burning of the fuse. In other instances a percussion-cap has been employed to be exploded when striking any object. This character oi fuse is not adapted to being iired at troops, because it cannot be timed, and, besides, in almost all such percussion devices,

there is great danger in handling them, and Y on shipboard accidents have occurred from such detonations; and in tiring these percussion projectiles an explosion is often caused by the sudden movement of the projectile in firing, or from the same. turning end for end in its Hight.

My invention overcomes all these difficulties, and is adapted to firing, as a time-fuse or as a concussion-fuse, and is perfectly safe, even if used roughly or exposed to concussion.

Said invention consists in a ball or'block upon a seat held there by a luting of clay, plaster, or cement, said seat communicating with the gunpowder of the projectile; and the said ball or block is embedded in fuse powder or composition, which keeps Jthe ball Y in place until said fuse-powder has been conl sumed around the ball, when the ball is still held by the cement; but the moment the projectile strikes or touches any object the said ball or block is shaken off its seat, breaking l the cement that held it and opening the pas` sage for fire to pass directly to the powder in These, however, would not.

the projectile, whereby the explosion thereoi is instantaneous the moment the projectile touches an object, regardless of the position ball; and to this fuse I add an ordinary fusetube that can be perforated or. cut off at any desired length, so as to explode the bomb in a given period of time, even without the same coming in contact with any object.

In the drawings, a represents a portion of a bomb-shell or other projectile, into which the fuse is to be screwed in any usual manner. b is the metallic-screw cylinder, in which is a Seat, f, communi eating by the pipe e with the interior of the bomb. yi is a ball, block, or other piece of material covering this seatj, and plaster or any suitable cement is employed to keep the ball to the seat sufficient-ly to prevent the flame of the fuse-powder, when burning, passing between the ball and seat until by a check of the projectile in its iiight the said ball is shaken off its seat, and the projectile is exploded,. as aforesaid. The fuse powder or composition g is to surround this y ball and hold it to the seat previous to the ignition of such fuse-powder when in use. The fuse powder orV composition may be of 1 any desired character, and the shape of thel l fuse varied according to circumstances, so l long as the said ball or its equivalent acts as l l l i aforesaid. l

I prefer that a perforated cap, It, be employed to cover the fuse-powder, and a thin disk of pewter or tin may be introduced at Z over the small iiange 3, to keep out dampness, which disk is to be removed by the point of a knife or otherwise before use. i

An opening is to be provided at the bottom of the cylinder b, whereby the fuse-pow der can ignite the projectile, should it not come in contact with any object before the said fuse-powder burns to this point; butin order to make my invention adapted to timefiring, I introduce the fuse d in a tube, c, attached to the inner end of b by cutting oli' this fuse d at any desired length, or perforat ing the ordinary paper case at one of the holes l l in c. The time for fire to communicate with the powder within the projectile can be the projectile will explode under all circumsaid fuse may stand in to the flight of the regulated, as now well understood, so that` stances when arrested in its flight, or after a Weight or valve to uncover an opening when given period if not so arrested. t the velocity of the ball is arrested; but

Fig. 3 illustrates a inode in which this iu- That I claim, and desire to secure/by Letters vention may be cheaply applied to the ordi- Patent, is

' nary time-fuse to cause the boinbto explode A ball or block cemented upon a tube or should it strike any object previous to the opening communicating with the interior of time the fuse burns out. In this the inetal the projectile7 and surrounded with fuse-powtube c is straight Within the time-fuse d, and der, as set forth, so that the explosion of the the fuse -powder surrounds the ball t', ee- I projectile will take place when the said ball ment-ed at 2 on the seat f, formed by the end l or block is shaken off' its seat bythe projectile of said tube e, and the explosion is caused striking` any object, as specified. when the projectile touches any object7 by In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my the ball shaking off, as before described. l signature this 20th day of January, 1863.

I do not claim surrounding` a Weight with L T T the fuse-powder, as is the case with those JAMES MCDTX RE' fuses that explode the shell by the breaking i \Vitnesses: of a glass or other tube at the time of striki LEMUEL XV. SERRELL, ing any objeet. Neither do I claim a sliding THos. GEO. HAROLD. 

